Quinoa Salad with Salmon: a Quick Dinner
My fabulous hair stylist at Salon George is the owner of a beautiful salon in Saint Paul. She also happens to be a gourmet chef. Of course while she masterfully fixes my hair, we talk about life, family, and most importantly: food. She gave me a great Lebanese sauce that can be everything from salad dressing to drizzling over veggies prior to roasting to whatever. The garlic is what gives it a nice distinct taste.
I added 1/2 cup oil (EVOO if you’re using it all right away, canola if it’s going into the fridge as EVOO hardens up!) & 1/2 cup lemon juice together.
And ground 2 cloves garlic into a paste with about a big big pinch of salt in the mortar with the pestle (one of my favorite kitchen utensils).
Then added garlic & whisked. Tah. Dah. Add freshly ground pepper if you so like.
Quinoa made easy-peasy: 2 cups chicken broth & 1 cup rinsed quinoa, bring to a boil, then simmer until all liquid absorbed (circa 20 mins).
Add raw diced veggies of any variety, toss with dressing, add a little freshly ground pepper.
Convince your husband to do the hard work of grilling up some Wild King salmon, and you have a nutritious and delicious meal. NUMMY!
We eat quinoa at least once a week, with beans, with veggies, with eggs, with anything. It’s a wonderful grain with a complete protein strand (unlike other grands) and is from South America. I get the big bags of it at Costco. Learn more about quinoa and quinoa recipes here.
Wow, a mortar and a pestle! You’re so gourmet! I don’t have one of those. Or Quinoa. I’ve been wanting to get some the past few days…with all the vegetables I got from the CSA, I need to make a Quinoa veggie salad.
Haha! Hardly a gourmet. I started making guac a few years back and realized you really need it. Quinoa is so easy and your kids would devour it, Amy. It has little to no taste except what you season it with. I cook it in chicken stock or veggie stock to add some flavor to the cooking process. CSA? Love it! Gotta give the rest of us some inspirational recipes!
That sounds like a tasty dressing. I just made Quinoa Pilaf the other day and it was lacking in flavor. I will try adding your dressing next time, thanks!
I love Quinoa, but yes, it lacks any flavor. This dressing is so simple yet really adds a robust body taste to the grain. If you do a variation on it and like it, please share it with the rest of us!
Stalking your blog for the recipe for the FABULOUS quinoa you made us last week…is it this?? I thought I remembered seeing a quinoa recipe here so I thought I’d double-check…was it red peppers, cukes & walnuts? Delish. 🙂